Fire relief efforts continue as recovery center closes

Nov. 21, 2012

Zakary Moyer, 9, pedals a bike around the ACS Community Lift Distribution Center on Wednesday as his twin brother, Camden, chases during the disaster relief center's final day at Foothills Mall in Fort Collins. The boys, who were evacuated with their family from Paradise Park west of Bellvue during the fire, took the bike home with them. / Rich Abrahamson/The Coloradoan

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Morgan Serrano, right, and Racheal Beckett, who were both evacuated from their Hewlett Gulch homes during the High Park Fire, sort women's clothes while volunteering Wednesday at ACS Community Lift Distribution Center at Foothills Mall in Fort Collins. The disaster relief center closed for the final time on Wednesday. / Rich Abrahamson/The Coloradoan

Need a hand?

If you are a High Park Fire survivor and still need assistance with food, supplies and clothing, contact the following groups: • Vineyard Church of the Rockies, (970) 484-6755 • ARC the Word of Life, (970) 308-6101. Ask for Pastor Tatum. • Poudre Christian Fellowship, (970) 391-8561. Ask for Pastor Randy Rivers. • Long-term Recovery Group of Northern Colorado case management, (970) 646-8879 • Call United Way of Larimer County’s 211 line Want to give a hand?

Help High Park Fire families continue their journey to recovery by donating to the Long-term Recovery Fund at United Way of Larimer County, or list yourself as a volunteer. Most volunteer opportunities will happen in the spring as families begin to rebuild.

More online and later this week

Visit Coloradoan.com/HighParkFire for earlier installments of this ongoing series. On Friday, Trevor Hughes reports on how residents are coping with the psychological toll of the disaster and what experts are doing to help.

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About six months ago, a beacon of hope for hundreds affected by the High Park Fire opened in Foothills Mall.

The ACS Community Lift Distribution Center, housed in the old Mervyns storefront at the Fort Collins mall, was not only a place to find the means to their survival in a world torn apart, but a safe haven from the flames engulfing their mountain homes and the emotional toll of the disaster.

Wednesday at 7 p.m., the center closed its doors for the final time, leaving its more than 3,000 clients wondering what’s next in the journey to a new life.

“I’m going to miss the people,” site manager June Spaulding said. “We’ve serviced them well and our prayers are still with them and will be for some time.”

The center received donations even this week for fire victims, but Spaulding isn’t worried about what to do with any remaining donations — in the center’s final days, any contributions went out the door as quickly as they came. And though her store — which provided everything from pet supplies to items to help cover basic human needs — is now closed, Spaulding has ensured many community resources still will be available to a population that remains clearly in need.

Some are churches, like Vineyard Church of the Rockies, ARC the Word of Life and Poudre Christian Fellowship. But one group is working fervently to ensure that not only survivors’ daily needs of food and shelter are met, but that High Park Fire families are given the keys to a brighter future and a hand to hold as they wade through insurance claims, government programs and the choice to rebuild or find another home.

The Long-term Recovery Group of Northern Colorado has 41 active cases with High Park Fire victims. It plans to work with an additional 40 who have said they need some help, but it’s not quite time. Another 60 have received information on help available to them. Though the group has tried to contact residents of each of the 259 affected homes, co-chairman Glenn Good said the current caseload is a good place to start in a mission that’s going to take months or even years to complete.

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“A lot of people are still not sure what they’re going to do or what’s available to them through government assistance or insurance,” Good said. “In many cases, the emergency needs like food or shelter have been addressed and we’re making that transition into long-term recovery, with the goal of helping people reasonably recover from the disaster now that they know some of their long-term needs.”

They’ll meet with their first three to five households for an “unmet needs committee meeting” in coming weeks, during which the Long-term Recovery Group will have the opportunity to use community donations to help families “fill the gap” between other aid programs.

Though the first meeting will be a “discovery process” as the 40-50 involved agencies and groups seek to collaborate resources and donations to the fund, Good said he’s hopeful for what the fund will be able to accomplish.

“None of us have the funds to completely rebuild 25-30 houses,” he said. “But all of us would like to see that those households who want to rebuild can.”

Gordan Thibedeau, president and CEO of the United Way of Larimer County and co-chairman of the Long-term Recovery Group of Northern Colorado, said a shift in focus to long-term recovery and rebuilding has allowed the group to focus on raising support and resources for the future.

During the fire, the group recommended that most donations go to the American Red Cross, Salvation Army and Larimer Humane Society to provide “immediate assistance.” The group didn’t solicit funds at that time, though some money began to trickle in.

Now the fund continues to grow and hopefully will help case by case meet fire victims’ varying needs for shelter, replacement of tools for their livelihood or repairs.

“We want to help them rebuild their lives,” Thibedeau said. “Every family has a slightly different story. There may be some debris removal that insurance doesn’t cover. There may be tools that were destroyed. The primary goal is to help families recover, whatever that might look like.”

While Thibedeau was impressed with the overwhelming support of the community during the peak of the High Park Fire and immediately after, he hopes the community will continue to recognize an ever-growing need six months later and beyond.

Just because the flames are extinguished doesn’t mean life is even close to normal for those affected, he said.

“The thing that happens with these fires or floods or tornadoes is that while it’s front-page news, it’s top of mind for everyone,” he said. “A couple months after it’s over, it’s over in most people’s mind. This recovery effort will go on for years and people affected are in desperate need of help in rebuilding their lives.

“We just ask that people not forget.”

Sarah Jane Kyle is the Coloradoan reporter covering volunteerism, nonprofits and philanthropy. Follow her on Twitter @sarahjanekyle or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/reportersarahjane.